Shutters play a very critical role in our homes. From delivering reminiscent spring rays into your home to, dressing down your windows, shutters have many functions. Unlike curtains, shutters are advanced window covers, stylish and chick. They also improve the overall hygiene, look and feel in any room they are placed while offering an element of flexibility when it comes to color choices you can make. They make it easy for you to control the amount of light entering a room among other things.

With so many kinds of shutters available in the market, a lot should be put into considering before buying them. In this article, we look at a few things you should keep in mind before buying your next shutters.

The Types Of Shutters
There is a myriad of shutters in the market serving different purposes. The three most popular ones include plantation, solid and café style shutters. Plantation shutters are popular because they have louvers while solid style shutters are a preserve of people who want a more traditional feel to their homes. The café shutters are popular in restaurants where a lot of ventilation or light is required; most barely covering the bottom part of the windows in cafes. Depending on what your interests are, you should choose the type of shutter that specifically speaks to your need.

Think About The Types Of Windows You Have
The type of windows you have at home is also worth keeping in mind the before buying shutters. This is because a lot of the shutters on the market are created to provide coverage to a specific kind of window. For instance, solid shutters will serve a more defined purpose in Victorian type windows because these are built for privacy. However, you can easily go creative with plantation shutters which are more customizable and in sync with more creative types of windows.

The Materials They Are Made From
Its worthy considering the kind of materials used to make shutters before you purchase them. Although wood remains as the most popular material used to make shutters, plastic, polyvinyl and MDF have become critical materials used to make shutters. However, you should be thinking about the weather in your home and temperature conditions when making the materials choice because not all kinds of shutters will serve you well. For example, you might want to consider water proof shutter materials over wooden shutters if you live in a fairly wet or harsh environment.

Amount Of Care Your Shutters Require
Another important element you should consider before buying your shutters is the level of maintenance they will require after you buy them. For example, will you manage to get adequate life out of your shutters as they are? Or will your shutters maintenance come at an extra expense of hiring shutter cleaners? These and many more, are some of the small but important factors you should consider when you start thinking about buying shutters.

Your persona style
No matter how practical the shutters you should want are, the bottom line is your personal style and taste. Do you like the shutters you see? Do they fit your personal style? Although we would like to persuade you to buy from your head, it’s always best to listen to your heart before making your buying decisions. You should choose shutters that resonate with your personal style and not just because they do work for a majority of the people- but be reasonable about it.

Overall, when you want to buy shutters, the tenets you peg your decisions upon are very important. In the big picture of things, you can’t go wrong buy getting shutters that fit with your personal style; those that are easy to maintain, and those that are perfect with your windows or made from the right kind of materials.

If you would like to decorate the exterior of your home, perhaps for a subtle change, instead of going to all of the trouble of painting your house, getting a new roof, or even changing the landscape outside to accentuate the existing colors, you might want to consider adding some shutters. Many people do not understand that there are many different types of shutters that are available, most of which can add an elegant distinction to windows outside of your home. Choosing the right ones takes a bit of experience, and an eye for color and form, but in the end it is an excellent way to improve the outside of the household. This article will address the different types of shutters that are available, as well as some tips on how to choose the best ones for your house.

What Exactly Are Window Shutters?

Window shutters are simply a type of window covering that will have horizontal rails and vertical stiles. They can be used for a variety of reasons which include practical reasons such as preventing access sunlight from coming into the home, or they can be purely decorative. They may have originally been used as a form of protection or security, preventing unwanted intruders from getting in. They also provide a certain level of privacy, things that you can fold over the windows, preventing people from seeing in. Today, they are primarily used for the single reason of adding an anesthetic appeal to the outside of the home, and are typically mounted on either side of a windowpane. There are many different styles to choose from, but let’s first look at the two specific types which include indoor and outdoor shutters.

Exterior Shutters

As mentioned before, they were originally designed in order to provide some level of privacy, protection and also to control the light coming in. They were all about functionality, and with hinges attached to the frame of the window, it is very easy to fold them over in order to achieve this goal. Today, most of them are fixed, and therefore completely decorative in nature. There are solid panels which work very well, or board and batten shutters, the type that you will see in the southern US on the East Coast, specifically to protect against hurricane force winds. In this sense, these are called functional shutters, constructed of very solid wood such as ponderosa pine or cedar, and sometimes oak. They can also come in a composite shutter format, meaning not entirely made of wood, which can help prevent rotting, splitting and breaking. The most common type are made of vinyl which serves a dual purpose in regard to longevity and also not needing to be repainted every year. Sometimes fiberglass is used, and can even come in PVC, materials that can endure the elements for long periods of time.

Interior Shutters

Shutters that you will put on the inside of your home, adjacent to the windows, can also be used for both purposes. In fact, if it is windy outside, the result of a hurricane, or a tornado that is moving in, it’s easier to fasten them into place without having to exit your home. These shutters are designed to swing inwards, and have operable louvres. Plantation shutters, also referenced as California shutters, are designed for areas where the climate is typically hot such as certain areas of Australia, the Mediterranean, South Africa, Florida and of course California. These can be very fancy, made of an assortment of hardwoods, even fiberglass, and may even have fabric inserts and tinted glass to make them useful for blocking out the sunlight. There are single tier, multitier, and also café style shutters which are only designed to cover the lower portion of the window once they are set into place.

Other Types Of Shutters

One of the more unique types of shutters that are made are called Bermuda shutters, or more popularly Bahama shutters. These are outdoor shutters, ones that have top hinges, which makes them very different from those that are hinged on the side. Obviously, the primary difference is that you must push the shutters out of the way, which makes them a little more difficult to operate. Board and batten shutters, very large in size, are designed for those that are looking for something that reminds them of rustic early America when the American frontier was leading up toward the wild wild West. You can also get panel shutters which are also European by design, customized sometimes individually to match each person’s individual taste and decor. These are typically square, and they have recessed rectangular patterns in the shutter frames, and are often constructed of vinyl or fiberglass. It should be mentioned that the reason many people choose Bermuda shutters over all of the others is because, especially in areas where hurricanes can happen, such as Bermuda, you really don’t want the wind to be able to come from the side and rip the shutters off. By having the hinge at the top, and bolting it down at the bottom, you have the best possible chance of not only preserving your shutter, but protecting your window from hurricane force winds that are common in these areas.

In conclusion, there are many different types of shutters that are available for purchase, ones that come in different sizes, shapes and colors. The type of material that you use can serve to protect your windows from gale force winds, add a decorative appeal, or provide a combination of the two. Although homes today typically have these as a result of wanting to improve the curbside appeal of their house, especially when they are going to sell their home on the open market, they were once primarily used not for decorative reasons, but as a way to protect the windows, add security, and also block unwanted light from coming in. You can find an assortment of shutters on the Internet, sold from specialty stores. The best deals, however, will come from national chains which will have significant discounts on every imaginable shutter available today.

Joseph, Fatted Calf Owner

Hey all! Welcome to my blog about my amazing shutters. A few years ago I started fatted calf burgers, but people liked my artistry more than my food. I had the brilliant idea of shutting down and selling shutters instead. So far it has worked perfectly. This blog will be dedicated to giving more valuable information on shutters.